Bug Out Bag Alternative

Generally speaking handguns are not considered ideal for survival applications but sometimes the rules change.

http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt257/Hummer70/MKIII100.jpg

The above target shot using a 25 yard pistol target with Ruger zeroed at 50 yards and target placed at 100 yards. If you look closely you will see POA in red above the bull which is where I aimed. 22LR zeroed at 50 yards drops about 6 1/2" at 100 yards. Ruger MkIII w/ NC Star 2-7X handgun scope.

I let a friend shoot this pistol and he immediately went out and got one in stainless, mounted the NC Star scope and he has now done in about 100 squirrels in his pecan trees.

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kbbailey

March 30, 2013, 10:52 AM

My MKII target wears a red dot sight. The gun shoots so well that I rarely use my rifle anymore. I recently bought a Black Dog holster through Amazon that I like very much also.

I guess I dont have a bug-out bag, but my MKII rides in the console of my truck at all times. It gets used often.

Vern Humphrey

March 30, 2013, 03:49 PM

I think it depends on the situation -- if you're homesteading in Alaska, you'd probably want something bigger than a .22. If you're ejecting from an F22, where space is a premium, a Ruger and a brick would be a great survival weapon.

Warp

March 30, 2013, 10:21 PM

A scoped .22lr pistol seems like a great choice for a small-game taking pistol where space and weight is at a premium.

ku4hx

March 31, 2013, 07:03 AM

My first Ruger was the Standard model I bought in the late '60s. At the time, scoping a pistol was pretty much unheard of. If you wanted to shoot squirrels or rabbits and not destroy most of the meat you used a .22 with a solid bullet and took head shots whenever possible. The fixed open sights on my Standard were perfect for the task at hand.

If I were trekking through the backwoods trying to survive, I think I'd forgo the scope and re-hone my open sight skills a mite. Weight is important in those situations and if I were going to haul around extra weight, I'd opt for more rounds of ammunition.

Hummer70

March 31, 2013, 10:18 AM

It is actually more bulky than weighty but the BOB would help there. I have another MKII with issue sights and even a NIB Gov't Spec target gun that was overrun on gov't contract. We got three of them I since I ordered them I kept the one with the best trigger pull. A buddy sent the BOB from AGN. I like it.

Manny

March 31, 2013, 10:20 AM

My first Ruger was the Standard model I bought in the late '60s. At the time, scoping a pistol was pretty much unheard of. If you wanted to shoot squirrels or rabbits and not destroy most of the meat you used a .22 with a solid bullet and took head shots whenever possible. The fixed open sights on my Standard were perfect for the task at hand.

If I were trekking through the backwoods trying to survive, I think I'd forgo the scope and re-hone my open sight skills a mite. Weight is important in those situations and if I were going to haul around extra weight, I'd opt for more rounds of ammunition.
My limitations in shooting aren't lack of ability to hold steady or proper trigger control, it' pure and simple difficulty in seeing/focusing on iron sights. Even with my new nearly $900 progressive lens glasses I still have difficulty, though they work pretty well otherwise. Once I place an optic or laser in the equation, problem solved and I can shoot pretty darn good.

I personally prefer no more than a 2x scope, and have zero magnification Eotechs on my 10/22 TD rifle and Ruger Charger pistol, my LCR-22 is used primarily for training for my carry KLCR .357 and both wear Crimson Trace laser grips. In centerfire my 7.5" .454 Super Redhawk wears a 2X Weaver and the SRH Alaskan .454 wears a CT grip. Though I may shoot marginally OK without these aides, the addition of them allows me to shoot the weapon up to my and the weapons potential.

For the very minimal weight addition the ability to shoot with far more precision, even in less than ideal situations makes the decision a no-brainer for me.

kbbailey

March 31, 2013, 10:59 AM

I think I'd forgo the scope and re-hone my open sight skills a mite.

Ditto.... what manny said goes for me also. Decot shooting glasses with custom ground lenses won't take the place of young eyes.

I can take my MKII w reflex sight and pop a hole in the bullseye, then just make the hole bigger with the rest of the magazine. It is awesome. I will never go back to iron sights on that gun.

Vern Humphrey

March 31, 2013, 03:58 PM

I'm an old Infantryman, and have hiked most of the Appalachian Trail (mostly in 150-mile segments) and the Ozark Highlands Trail, among others. Weight is a premium when hiking -- but I don't see a survival situation as hiking. Your goal when hiking is to cover ground. In a survival situation, it's to survive.

That said, I don't own any handguns with scopes and usually carry my Colt Woodsman in the woods.

Hummer70

March 31, 2013, 11:40 PM

I think I have about 9 pistol scopes. At least six are 2X and work fine but on the MKIII it is a 2-7x and I find it makes for a smaller group if you have the set up to settle the gun down as your control is much better.

I have a Marine buddy (retd E9) shoot it and he went ballistic and had to have one immediately. He has now done in around 100 squirrels in his pecan trees. He also got a 2-7x scope.

Unfortunately handguns lack really effective delivery especially at range but then again for small game it would work and some larger game with good shot placement.

The best this is the amount of ammo you can carry in a BOB to keep it going.

bannockburn

April 1, 2013, 07:21 AM

Hummer70

Not sure of the practical side of carrying a scoped Ruger Mk.III in regards to a survival type of application. I would probably be more inclined to take along a full size M1911 and a .22 conversion assembly for it if I were equiping a bug-out bag for such a situation.

HKGuns

April 1, 2013, 08:28 PM

This is what I have in mine......unconventional, perhaps, but flexible.

http://hkguns.zenfolio.com/img/s2/v53/p593300868-5.jpg

Yo Mama

April 1, 2013, 08:44 PM

I'm not bugging out, I'm buggin in. :)

Vern Humphrey

April 1, 2013, 09:01 PM

Same here -- it never made sense to me to bug out. After all, you've got more survival stuff right where you live than you can possibly carry.

Plan2Live

April 1, 2013, 10:10 PM

Rather than debate the logic of Bugging In vs Bugging Out, which is a no win argument, why not stick with the original premise of using the Ruger as a survival alternative to a rifle or shotgun?

I've fired one of those using iron sites and was admitedly surprised at the accuracy at 50+ yards. At those distances I could see it being an alternative to a small bore rifle. Add a detachable shoulder stock (if such a thing happened to be available) and you have the best of both worlds, that being the self defense pistol world and the small bore rifle for small game world. Under certain circumstances I would consider it.

kbbailey

April 1, 2013, 11:51 PM

As far as the B.O.B. bag is concerned, I think it is a good Idea. I have been involved in four missing person searches. All of which were unusual circumstances. All lasting at least overnight. It would be nice to already have items necessary for an overnite outing collected in a BOB. Lights ,fire, warm clothes, blanket, compass, maybe even a small pistol.

Warp

April 1, 2013, 11:53 PM

A GHB (get home bag) positioned in your vehicle is an even more-likely to be useful item, IMO. I don't really have a BOB per se, but more of a GHB that by its nature has much of what a dedicated BOB would have.

Onward Allusion

April 2, 2013, 12:38 AM

+1 on the Get Home Bag.

Most people spend about 10 waking hours away from their home a day at work & another dozen or so away from home on the weekends. That's a good chunk of time to be away from your loved ones and your stuff, including things that can save your butt over the long haul in a natural disaster or civil unrest situation. "Getting Out" should be a last option. "Getting Home" should be the first option.

Here's a link to an article from last year that I had run across about Get-Home-Bags...

Tools & spare parts, jumper boxes, chainsaws, chains.....long list of equipment lives in these vehicles. But the house is stocked with >6 months worth of everything we need, including generator power, so I have no intention of leaving unless staying is absolutely untenable.

ku4hx

April 3, 2013, 08:16 AM

Bug out to where? Into the wild and leave everything you own and maybe could use? I'm just an old fart and I know it, but worst come to worst, I think I'll just stay put and defend what I have to the best of my ability. I mean, that's where all my ammunition is. Same for guns, MREs, stored water and etc. Where ya gonna run to that's better than that? Out into the desert or forest with all the other people who've left all their stuff behind? Sounds like a recipe for trouble to me. Of course if your homestead is obliterated while you're in it ("BOB" in the truck in the garage) then that's a different story. But in that event (nuclear burst; alien invasion) it's likely your vehicle, "BOB", you and everything else is gone or damaged beyond anticipated use.

During the bombing of London in WW2, English children were sent to other places, but the adults stayed and resisted. That sort of thing can be seen throughout history. Of course you hear about mass refugee movements today, but those people generally are just sheep anyway with little to no means to fight back. I'm a fan of "Falling Skies" too, but that and "The Walking Dead" are just fantasy. But even in them, the effort is to get "home": Charleston, SC; a prison compound or wherever that provides safety and security. For me, that's my house/home. It may not be the ultimate choice, but it beats a tent, 50 rounds of ammunition, two water bottles, old batteries, a few energy bars and no toilet paper.

We have "bags" in both our vehicles, but they are designed to get us through an emergency and on to home. Home is where the "good stuff" is ... lots of it, and quite frankly that's where I want to be.

As far as a "BOB" is concerned, we've had one (along with a fully stocked trauma/first aid kit) since the birth of our first child in 1978. But we just called it our "just in case" bag and is basically an offshoot of the bag we had standing by for that trip to the hospital for an upcoming birth. That sort of thing is nothing new and is certainly a good idea.

Warp

April 3, 2013, 11:26 AM

Bug out to where? Into the wild and leave everything you own and maybe could use? I'm just an old fart and I know it, but worst come to worst, I think I'll just stay put and defend what I have to the best of my ability.

You may not be able to defend all that you have from flood waters, fire, a chemical gas leak/spill, radioactive fallout, whatever.

Where ya gonna run to that's better than that?

Somewhere that doesn't have whatever imminent threat forced me out.

Out into the desert or forest with all the other people who've left all their stuff behind?

Or to a friend or relative's house, or a far away hotel/motel. Or staying in the car parked in a rest area, park, or on the side of the road.

We have "bags" in both our vehicles, but they are designed to get us through an emergency and on to home. Home is where the "good stuff" is ... lots of it, and quite frankly that's where I want to be.

That's probably true of everybody.

But, you know, sometimes 'stuff' happens.

As far as a "BOB" is concerned, we've had one (along with a fully stocked trauma/first aid kit) since the birth of our first child in 1978. But we just called it our "just in case" bag and is basically an offshoot of the bag we had standing by for that trip to the hospital for an upcoming birth. That sort of thing is nothing new and is certainly a good idea.

:cool:

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